In country after European country, the post-modern charade of the
bliss of multiculturalism -- the idea that all cultures are equal and
can coexist peacefully side-by-side in any given country, and that
Muslim immigrants should be allowed to keep their cultural traditions
rather than integrate into wider European society -- is unravelling.

Consider just a few of the following Islam-related controversies that
jolted Europe during March 2012, a month that not only exposed the
deadly consequences of decades of politically correct
multiculturalism, but also brought into stark relief the moral
confusion that now reigns supreme among much of Europe´s political
class.

In France, a 23-year-old Islamic jihadist named Mohamed Merah
confirmed the threat of homegrown Muslim terrorism. Merah, a French
citizen of Algerian origin, killed three French paratroopers, three
Jewish schoolchildren and a rabbi with close-range shots to the head.
He filmed himself carrying out the attacks that began on March 11
to "verify" the deaths. Merah later died in a hail of gunfire on
March 22 after a 32-hour standoff with police at his apartment in the
southern French city of Toulouse.

In an extraordinary display of moral callousness, an indifferent
Catherine Ashton, the European Union´s ´Foreign Minister´ and member
of the British Labour Party, declared that "what happened in
Toulouse," -- the deliberate murder of the Jewish children -- was
morally equivalent to the accidental war deaths of Palestinian
children in the Gaza Strip. Then, in a clumsy effort to blunt the
outrage engendered by Ashton´s spectacle, her spin doctors released a
statement to "clarify" her remarks by amending the official
transcript of her speech.

Ashton made her contentious comments at none other than a pro-
Palestinian activists´ conference in Brussels, the self-
styled "Capital of Europe" and also the most Islamic city in Europe.
She hosted the event, entitled "Palestine Refugees in the Changing
Middle East," in an attempt to convince the world that the European
Union is an "honest broker" in the Middle East. Not surprisingly, the
Hamas terrorist group applauded Ashton, saying "she deserves thanks,
appreciation, and support in the face of Zionist attempts to
terrorize and pressure her."

Meanwhile, in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations Human Rights
Council on March 19 extended an invitation to Hamas´s very own Ismail
al-Ashqar to speak to the 19th regular session of the body. The UN
reluctantly rescinded al-Ashqar´s invitation at the last minute on
fears that his appearance might further undermine its own credibility.

True to form, the Human Rights Council considered five resolutions on
Israel and the Palestinians, including four resolutions submitted by
Palestine, even though no such state exists. One resolution called
for the council to appoint an international fact-finding committee to
investigate Israeli "settlements" on the West Bank and their impact
on Palestinian life.

The measure was adopted by a vote of 36 in favor, 1 against and 10
abstentions. Voting in favor were: Austria, Belgium, Norway and
Switzerland. Not surprisingly, no European country opposed the
measure (the United States cast the only ´no´ vote).

In Germany, Sigmar Gabriel, the head of the opposition Social
Democratic Party (SPD) and a possible candidate for German
chancellor, on March 14 described Israel as an "apartheid regime."
Posting on his Facebook site, Gabriel wrote: "I was just in Hebron
[under the Palestinian Authority´s control, not Israel´s, at the
Palestinian Authority´s request - the editors]. That is a lawless
territory there for Palestinians. This is an apartheid regime, for
which there is no justification."

Gabriel´s remarks triggered a wave of criticism from Chancellor
Angela Merkel´s Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU), which issued
a statement saying: "The fact that a German politician is using the
term ´Apartheid´ in connection with Israeli society is shameful. This
is out of turn and reveals Mr. Gabriel´s ignorance in foreign policy
matters, especially when it comes to such complex issues such as the
Middle East conflict."

Gabriel, a former environmental minister, was unrepentant. He later
sought to meet with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, despite Germany´s
official policy not to recognize the terror group. Gabriel also said
he welcomed the inclusion of Hamas as political partner in the Middle
East.

In Sweden, Ilmar Reepalu, the leftwing mayor of Malmö, accused Jews
in the country of teaming up with an anti-immigrant party to "spread
hate" toward Muslims.

Reepalu, who has turned a blind eye to the growing problem of anti-
Semitism in Malmö during the more than 15 years he has been mayor,
believes that Jews are responsible for anti-Semitism because of their
support for Israeli policies in the Middle East.

Muslims now comprise between 20% and 25% of Malmö´s total population
of around 300,000; much of the increase in anti-Jewish violence in
recent years is being attributed to shiftless Muslim immigrant youth.
In recent months, the only synagogue serving Malmö´s 700-strong
Jewish community has been the focus of repeated attacks. The
synagogue, which has previously been set on fire and been the target
of bomb threats, now has guards stationed around it, while the Jewish
kindergarten can only be reached through reinforced steel security
doors.

In January 2010, for example, Reepalu marked Holocaust Memorial Day
by declaring that Zionism is racism. In an interview with the daily
newspaper Skånska Dagbladet, he also said: "I would wish for the
Jewish community to denounce Israeli violations against the civilian
population in Gaza. Instead it decides to hold a [pro-Israeli]
demonstration in the Grand Square [of Malmö], which could send the
wrong signals."

Reepalu was referring to an incident in January 2009, during Israel´s
brief war in Gaza, when a small demonstration in favor of Israel was
attacked by a screaming mob of Muslims and Swedish leftists, who
threw bottles and firecrackers as the police looked on.

In July 2011, after a Hollywood film production company cancelled
plans to shoot a movie in Skåne in southern Sweden due to concerns
over anti-Semitism in Malmö, Reepalu cast his rage at the Los Angeles-
based Simon Wiesenthal Center for advising Jews to avoid traveling to
the region.

Reepalu, in an interview with the newspaper Sydsvenskan, said: "I
have a feeling that the Simon Wiesenthal Center is not really looking
for what is happening in Malmö but they want to hang the people who
dare to criticize the state of Israel. Are they once again saying I
should be silenced? I will never compromise my morals."

In a March 22 interview with the magazine NEO about the rise of anti-
Semitism in Sweden, Reepalu said the Jewish community has
been "infiltrated" by the conservative Sweden Democrats party to
promote their mutual disdain for Muslims. Reepalu´s comments
triggered outrage but he is unlikely to give ground.

Jewish cemeteries in Sweden also have been desecrated; Jewish
worshippers have been abused on their way home from prayer; and Jews
have been taunted in the streets by masked men chanting phrases such
as "Hitler, Hitler" and "Dirty Jew."

Some Jews in Sweden have stopped attending prayer services altogether
out of fear for their safety and 15 Jewish families have left the
city altogether because of harassment and threats.

In Britain, Baroness Cox, one of the most outspoken campaigners
against the spread of Islamic Sharia law there, told a House of Lords
symposium on March 19 that a growing number of British Muslims are
shunning the official court system in favor of Sharia councils to
settle legal disputes. She warned that if Sharia law is allowed to
thrive, brutal punishments like stoning, whipping and amputations
could become widespread in Britain.

Islamic jurisprudence is, in fact, spreading throughout Britain at an
astonishing rate. At least 85 Islamic Sharia courts are now operating
there, almost 20 times as many as previously believed.

A recent think tank study entitled "Sharia Law or One Law for All"
found that scores of unofficial tribunals and councils regularly
apply Islamic law to resolve domestic, marital and business disputes,
many operating in mosques; and warns of a "creeping" acceptance of
Sharia principles in British law.

In London, Ashton´s Labour Party colleague Ken Livingstone, who is
campaigning to become its next mayor, said he wants to turn the
capital city into a "beacon" of Islam. According to a recent Ipsos
MORI poll conducted for the BBC, Livingstone´s main rival, the
incumbent mayor Boris Johnson, holds a slight lead but is in a
statistical dead heat. With an estimated one million Muslims living
in London, Livingstone´s appeal to Islam may, on May 3, propel him
into the mayor´s office.

Speaking to Muslim worshippers on March 16 at the North London
Central Mosque, one of the most hardline anti-Western mosques in
Europe, Livingstone pledged that if elected, he would "educate the
mass of Londoners" about Islam.

Livingstone, a self-described socialist who previously served as the
mayor of London from 2000 to 2008, declared: "I want to spend the
next four years making sure that every non-Muslim in London knows and
understands [Mohammed´s] words and message. That will help to cement
our city as a beacon that demonstrates the meaning of the words of
the Prophet."

In the Netherlands, the Dutch public broadcaster VPRO has been
offering its viewers a downloadable board game called "The Settlers
of the West Bank" featuring Israeli "settlers" who use "Jewish
stinginess," "Wailing Wall," and "Anne Frank" cards to "colonize" the
West Bank. The aim of the game is to build as many "settlements" as
possible on so-called Palestinian territory. VPRO, describing the
game as "thought-provoking satire," reluctantly removed it from its
website following accusations of anti-Semitism.

Frits Bolkestein, a veteran Dutch politician, said that Jews have no
future in the Netherlands and he has recommended that they emigrate
to Israel or the United States for their own safety. In an interview
with the Dutch magazine Elsevier, Bolkestein said: "I see no future
for recognizable Jews [those who wear skullcaps or sidecurls], in
particular because of anti-Semitism, specifically in Dutch Moroccans,
who continue to grow in number."

Dutch politician Geert Wilders was quick to refute Bolkestein by
saying that "Jews should not emigrate, anti-Semitic Moroccans
should." But the writing is on the wall; Europe´s Islamic future has
arrived.